Batinick: AFSCME members authorizing a strike is 'disappointing'

When the American Federation of State, County
and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) scheduled a strike vote earlier this year,
many viewed the move as another tactic orchestrated by the union to prevent
Gov. Bruce Rauner from imposing his last, best offer.

What followed was a three-week voting period in
which AFSCME members had the opportunity to vote to give union leaders
permission to call for a strike.

More than 80 percent of state workers who voted
authorized a strike, AFSCME officials announced in February.

“Eighty-one percent of members voted ‘yes’ to
give the bargaining committee the authority to call a strike if no other path forward
can be found,” AFSCME Director Roberta Lynch said during a press conference.

State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) said
the course AFSCME has chosen to take is disheartening.

“I think it’s disappointing,” Batinick told the Sangamon Sun. “We certainly have a
budget crisis in the state. I think everybody is going to have to give in a
little bit, and it shows an unwillingness to give in.”

Batinick said he was surprised by the
percentage of AFSCME members who approve the strike.

“I think I expected them to vote to give
authorization, but I didn’t expect it to be that high of a percentage,” he
said, adding that the last thing the state needs to worry about is the possibility
of a strike. “We don’t need another crisis in the state of
Illinois.”

Throughout the nearly two-year battle between
Rauner and AFSCME over contract negotiations, the union has insisted on
demanding higher wages and benefits that would impose an additional $3 billion
tax burden to an already cash-strapped state.

What many find troubling is the fact that AFSCME
is demanding wage increases of up to 29 percent, overtime hours beginning at 37.5
hours per week, and increased health care coverage at little cost to Illinois
employees despite their being the highest-paid state
employees in the country when adjusted for cost of living.

Rauner has remained adamant that the state simply
cannot afford to agree to AFSCME’s terms.

Like Batinick, state Rep. Bob Pritchard (R-Sycamore) was not surprised by the vote or AFSCME’s hesitation to strike.

“Strikes are very expensive and the membership
is not used to a strike or much pushback to its demands,” he told the Sangamon Sun. “The union should be able
to get the vote it wants when voting is transparent and not secret.”

What Pritchard finds troubling about the
lengthy standoff between Rauner and AFSCME is that “reasonable people who
understand the issues the state faces” have been unable to reach an agreement
sooner.

“Several of my local unions, other than AFSCME,
know what is possible going into the negotiations and quickly see the end
game,” Pritchard said. “That does not appear to be the
case with AFSCME. It appears
the governor is immovable in the range of his minimum provisions, and I do not
look for him to respond quickly, if at all, to a strike.”

Pritchard believes it is time for everyone in the
state to work together for the good of all involved parties.

“We have enough negative news in Illinois; it
is time for people to start getting along, legislature included,” he said.

Last November, the Illinois
Labor Relations Board declared that negotiations between Rauner and AFSCME
leadership had reached an impasse, meaning the union would either have to accept Rauner’s last, best offer or call a strike.

The
board sent out the written decision Dec. 5.

AFSCME,
however, claimed that the board failed to follow proper protocol when it issued
its written decision and sought a temporary restraining order, which was issued
by St. Clair
County Circuit Judge Robert LeChien on Dec. 6. This prevented Rauner from
imposing his most recent best offer, which included a 100 percent increase in
health premiums, a four-year pay freeze and provisions granting Rauner
permission to outsource public services.

A week later, the board reissued the impasse
decision.

Pritchard is currently reading a book about Ike
Eisenhower and said he notices many similarities between the leadership style of
former U.S. Rep. Bob Michel, who recently passed away.

“Both of them had
goals, but they were pragmatic and knew they had to get along with the
opposition,” Pritchard said. “They were focused on what
was good for the country. They
compromised. We need to roll back the clock in Illinois and
have some civility, cooperation and focus on what’s right for our state.”

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